Recent rash of scams against older adults | Crime

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District Attorney Jeff Reisig reported that a recent surge in scams targeting older adults has been occurring in Yolo County. Reports by victims in West Sacramento, Davis and Woodland indicate that crooks continue to use phony sweepstakes scams and the “Grandma It’s Me” telephone scam to trick people into wiring money out of the country.

In one instance over $4000 dollars was lost in a phony sweepstakes scam after a con artist pretending to be from the Federal Trade Commission convinced a local senior to wire money to Costa Rica. In another recent case a hard working elderly woman was tricked into sending all the money she had in her savings account to someone claiming to be her grandson who was in trouble and out of the country. She believed it was him and was trying to help.

These international scam artists use clever schemes to defraud thousands of people out of their money. They use telephone, email, postal service and the internet to cross geographic boundaries and trick victims into wiring money or giving out personal information like bank account numbers, credit card numbers or social security card numbers.

The District Attorney wants to remind our citizens that they should be very cautious when asked to wire money out of the country for any reason. We strongly suggest that you always check to verify with a knowledgeable family member, friend or trusted advisor first because it is not possible to retrieve the money after it’s gone.

For more information on how to keep safe and avoid being scammed, please contact the District Attorney or plan to attend the 2012 Yolo/Sacramento Fraud Awareness Fair in West Sacramento on October 10, 2012. This free event offers valuable information about popular schemes that people are falling victim to right here in our community. The Fraud Awareness Fair will be held at the West Sacramento Civic Center located at 1110 West Capitol Avenue.